DECISION AREA #3: SHAPE & FLOW EMPHASIS

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS:

Shape:

• literally plays with the ‘shapes’ of parameters in a relatively abstract way

• invites a contemplative mode of perception

• engages listener on a more demanding, intellectual level typical of acousmatic EA

• information more diffuse — either sparse, or too dense to perceive details on first hearing

• Invites repeat listening

Equivalents in other forms:

•Writing: description <—> plot

Flow:

• uses parameters as required to create a compelling stream of sound for listeners

• aims to cause a more riveted form of perception

• engages listener in a less demanding way closer to musical and media approaches

• information more focused, linear and stream-like

• Does not usually require repeat listening for salient details

DECISION AREA #2: PARAMETERS (micro- and macro- levels)

Composition Process

DECISION AREA #1: BASIC APPROACH AND MATERIALS FOR SOUND OBJECTS

Remember that in the documentation for your original portfolio composition(s) [4:00 total, two shorter, or one long piece], you must address all of the major decision areas discussed in class, one of which has not yet been covered:

From Shape to Flow:

Equivalent examples from literature

Mallarmé — purely ‘shape-like’, abstract prose

Miller — ‘shape-like’, but with trace ‘flow’ elements

Tolkien a) — descriptive, therefore shape-oriented, but with stronger flow elements because of overall integration into a narrative context

Tolkien b) — descriptive of a character, so shape elements are still strong, but more or less on an equal footing with flow because the character is a key narrative protagonist

Tolkien c) — again descriptive of a character, but this time flow is stronger than shape because the description takes place during a more compelling narrative scene

Examples of how parameters and shape/flow interact:

Hildegard Westerkamp’s Breathing Room

PARAMETERS:

—Gesture-based (activity of human breathing central)

—Theme & Variations Structure

—Rhythm component in heartbeat/drum element, which is also Gesture-based

SHAPE/FLOW:

—The gestural and rhythmic elements help promote flow, in that they draw us intothe ‘story’ being told (or the ‘image’ being presented) and make the listener curious about what is coming next on the timeline.

—The structural repetition of the breath pattern is shape-like, encouraging the listener to carefully examine details in the composition, e.g. the content of each exhalation, and also invites repeat listening to study those finer features.

Examples of how parameters and shape/flow interact:

Robert Mackay’s Need Without Reason

PARAMETERS:

—Gesture- and Concept-driven (voice and poetry)

—Significantly plays with Spectrum throughout

—Frequency (glissandi, stable pitched sounds) is also a prominent parameter

—Layering plays a key role insofar as textures shift between homogenous, homophonic and heterophonic textures

SHAPE/FLOW:

—Strongly driven by flow elements, primarily the voice, text, and melodic-harmonic musical materials.

—The shape dimension is satisfied by detailed layering and spectral play, amongother factors.

Choose one of the three following topics and write a short essay (500 words minimum) addressing the specified points.

An in-progress / live presentation can/must also be given in class before the end of the semester, depending on the topic.

Topic 1: Applied Ea example

Focus on a single sound piece

…or a series of excerpts from sound works

…that fall outside of the ‘pure’ ea area,

…but that nonetheless clearly show the influence of ea compositional techniques and ideas.

The material can be by:

• a musical artist• a film sound designer or composer• a conceptual artist• or any other creator inspired by ea.

• In your essay, analyze how the composer manipulates, in ea fashion :

• shape / flow• the nine parameters discussed this semester

EAMT 203 tutorial assignment

Major EA Influence:• musique concrète techniques

• composing philosophy of Edgard Varèse

Varèse’s pieces contained what he called “Masses of sounds moving about in space, each at its own speed, on its own plane, rotating, colliding, interacting, splitting up, reuniting…”

Varèse referred to his works as “progressing in opposing planes and volumes,” or as based on “successions of alternate, opposite states.”

Some analysts have referred to Varèse’s fundamental approach simply as “blocks of sound”.

Zappa’s “blocks of sound” included:

• songs and instrumentals in various styles;

• serious contemporary music;

• musique concrète, often used as connecting material

compositional approach that touches on structure, layering, rhythm, gesture, concept

Topic 1, example 1: FRANK ZAPPAEAMT 203 tutorial assignment

Topic 1, example 2: René Lussier

“Le trésor de la langue” :

— remarkable for combining vocal and instrumental gestures;

— outright EA processing (i.e. sound shaping) another major component;

— music in a number of styles acts as the main flow catalyst.

EAMT 203 tutorial assignment

Put together a concept for a live ea piece to be played in class. You may perform the piece solo or in small groups.

You are allowed to bring in equipment for the performance, but you must provide all patch cords, connectors, pedals and other accessories for your instrument or device.

Amplification and a mixer will be provided.

Among the ideas explored by students in the past have been the following:

‘Audience participation’ pieces in which performers team up with class members in creating live acoustic sounds that are accompanied by recorded or live electronic material

Pieces for processed voice, guitar, keyboard, drum machine and other instruments

Laptop or chaos pad improvisations

Use of radios and other interesting electronic sound sources

In your essay, analyze how:

the instruments, processors, programs, etc. were set up to maximize onshape, flow, and other parametric manipulation possibilities for the performance

Also give an evaluation of how the actual performance played out in relation to your plans and expectations.

Topic 2: Live Ea performance

EAMT 203 tutorial assignment

Pick an interesting (and possibly controversial) topic or idea that touches on and affectsin some significant way the cultural space occupied by Ea, sound art and related areas.

You will be expected to lead a discussion on the topic in class as well as write an essayelaborating on your own views concerning the subject.

Some general examples:

• EA, copyright, open source, piracy

• Does humor have a place in EA?

• ‘Activist’ EA in a passive listening culture?

2 more specific examples:

Topic 3: Reflections / discussions on the theme of Ea in society

EAMT 203 tutorial assignment

1. How much is creativity dependent on, or tied in with, technology?

2. What role does inherent talent play in creativity? What about the influence of learning and training on creative development?

3. What influence do work habits and routines have on creativity? Are they helpful or detrimental?

4. What is the difference (if any) between creativity and originality?

5. Is creativity a specifically artistic (arts-based) phenomenon, or can it apply to other areas of our lives? If so, how do the different areas interrelate?

6. How can / does creativity relate to the professional or survival-related aspects of our lives? In what way are our general attitudes towards creativity affected by the money dimension?

7. What social attitudes are we aware of surrounding creativity? How would you describe what friends, family and people in your social circle feel about your creativity and about creativity in general?

8. A contemporary philosopher has proposed that the following six qualities are inherent in human nature, and that an equilibrium between them is vital to our individual and collective health. How do you see each of them relating to creativity on a personal and societal level?

Common Sense (shared knowledge)Ethics (the area of spirituality, religion, philosophy, personal reflection)Imagination (the most obvious human faculty connected to creativity)Intuition (nonlinear, holistic thought and decision making processes)Memory (tradition, awareness of what has gone before)Reason (linear, calculated thought)

9. Improvisation and creativity: think about what a jazz musician (or any other improviser) does in and around their performances. How does improvisational ability of this type relate to compositional creativity?

10. Make a short list of the most creative things you've done. Review the previous nine points and reflect on how your choices relate to them. Which creative dimensions and issues are related to what you did?

Creativity Discussion (Topic 3, example 1)

Jacques Attali’s Noise: The Political Economy of Music

[Topic 3, example 2]

Jacques Attali’s Noise: The Political Economy of Music

—Sees power’s primary obsession as the suppression and control of social “noise”.

—Social noise includes violence, and opposition or disruption of established order.

—Four great paradigms of social order span human history:

* Sacrifice: Violence is suppressed by its ritualization in the form of a human or animal sacrifice.

* Representation: Social noise is controlled via the simulacrum ofsacrifice in the spectacle, by special represent-atives of the social body.

*Repetition: The power of the sacrificial spectacle is encoded in infinitely repeatable commodities, theconsumption of which suppresses social noise.

*Composition: Individuals assume responsibility for themaintenance of social order.

A “Composing” Society? Attali’s Vision of a New Cultural Paradigm

—Based on individuals “doing for the sake of doing”.

—After the breakdown of common codes, sees the creation of personal codes.

—Technological facilitation occurs in the “invention of many new instruments”.

—Consists of grassroots expression, taking place largely outside of money.

—Involves a move away from hyper-specialization.

—Requires a move away from materialism: pleasure in being instead of having.

—Spirals back to cultural activities that are more integrated, less autonomous.

—Circumvents distribution monopolies by ending need for “demand creation”.

—Sees rise of local, small-scale dimensions of culture on the one hand.

—On the other hand, local cultures are complemented by global connections.

—Primary goals not spectacle and repetition (e.g. hits), but communication.

Focal points for discussion:

• Are we now witnessing the emergence of Attali’s ‘composing society’?

• Is EA one of the signs that it is emergent?

• If we don’t feel it is emerging, can we acknowledge that a ‘dark side’ of the same phenomenon might be rising in its place — terrorism, piracy, gangs, etc.

1. How much is creativity dependent on, or tied in with, technology?

2. What role does inherent talent play in creativity? What about the influence of learning and training on creative development?

3. What influence do work habits and routines have on creativity? Are they helpful or detrimental?

4. What is the difference (if any) between creativity and originality?

5. Is creativity a specifically artistic (arts-based) phenomenon, or can it apply to other areas of our lives? If so, how do the different areas interrelate?

6. How can / does creativity relate to the professional or survival-related aspects of our lives? In what way are our general attitudes towards creativity affected by the money dimension?

7. What social attitudes are we aware of surrounding creativity? How would you describe what friends, family and people in your social circle feel about your creativity and about creativity in general?

8. A contemporary philosopher has proposed that the following six qualities are inherent in human nature, and that an equilibrium between them is vital to our individual and collective health. How do you see each of them relating to creativity on a personal and societal level?

Common Sense (shared knowledge)Ethics (the area of spirituality, religion, philosophy, personal reflection)Imagination (the most obvious human faculty connected to creativity)Intuition (nonlinear, holistic thought and decision making processes)Memory (tradition, awareness of what has gone before)Reason (linear, calculated thought)

9. Improvisation and creativity: think about what a jazz musician (or any other improviser) does in and around their performances. How does improvisational ability of this type relate to compositional creativity?

10. Make a short list of the most creative things you've done. Review the previous nine points and reflect on how your choices relate to them. Which creative dimensions and issues are related to what you did?

Creativity Discussion